1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a break-away lock to be used to secure a fire hydrant water meter to a fire hydrant so as to stop thieves, dishonest building contractors, and other unauthorized individuals from removing the water meter from the fire hydrant so as to avoid a theft of the water meter and the underpayment of monies owed to a municipality or public utility for water actually consumed at the fire hydrant. The break-away lock is advantageously adapted to permit the water meter to automatically separate from the fire hydrant in the event that a pulling force is applied to a water supply hose connected between a water tanker truck and the water meter to prevent a possible unearthing of the fire hydrant should the truck inadvertently pull away from the fire hydrant without first detaching the hose from the water meter.
2. Background Art
Often, when building contractors are in need of water for use at a construction site, they will purchase the required supply from a municipality or a public utility. One common source of such water for filling a tanker truck or other storage means is a fire hydrant. In order to determine the payment due the municipality or utility, a water meter is coupled to the fire hydrant to determine the volume of water consumed by the contractor. The greater the volume consumed, the more that is owed by the contractor. However, to avoid or unfairly reduce its payments, some contractors have been known to exchange one water meter for another so as to produce a false reading and an underpayment of the monies owed. Other contractors have been known to remove the water meter altogether from the fire hydrant during periods of high water consumption so as to deprive the municipality or utility of revenue.
Conventional water meters are often manufactured from aluminum. In this regard, thieves have been known to remove a water meter from a fire hydrant to be sold as scrap. This situation creates a waste of resources and, to some extent, higher water bills passed on to consumers.
What is even more, with a fire hydrant water meter properly installed between a water supply hose at one side thereof and the fire hydrant at the opposite side, it has been known for water tanker truck operators to inadvertently drive away from the fire hydrant with the water supply hose still connected to the water meter. Consequently, a strong pulling force will be applied by the tanker truck to the fire hydrant via the water supply line including the water meter. As an undesirable result of the foregoing, the fire hydrant could be pulled out of the ground. The negative effects and the damages associated with having the fire hydrant unearthed should be apparent.
Therefore, what is needed is a relatively low cost, easy to use lock to be connected between a water meter and a fire hydrant by which to reliably stop the unauthorized removal of the water meter from the fire hydrant while, at the same time, being adapted to automatically separate from the fire hydrant in the event that the operator of a tanker truck drives off with the water supply hose still connected between the truck and the water meter.
A break-away lock is disclosed to reliably retain a fire hydrant water meter connected to a fire hydrant so as to stop thieves and dishonest building contractors from removing the water meter in order to prevent a theft thereof and/or a substitution of one water meter for another in an attempt to underpay for water consumed from a municipal water supply A water supply hose is connected from a water tanker truck, or the like, to the fire hydrant water meter, and the break-away lock is connected between the water meter and the fire hydrant. The break-away lock of this invention is advantageously adapted to permit an automatic separation of the water meter from the fire hydrant and avoid a possible unearthing of the fire hydrant in the event that the tanker truck pulls away from the fire hydrant with the water supply hose still connected between the truck and the water meter.
The break-away lock includes the detachable connection of a swivel that is rotated into connection with the fire hydrant and a slide-out coupler that is connected at one end thereof to the swivel and at the opposite end to the fire hydrant water meter to complete a flow path between the fire hydrant and the water supply hose. More particularly, the proximal end of the slide-out coupler is received within and frictionally engaged by the distal end of the swivel, and a plurality of ball bearings are located within a circumferential channel at the intersection of the swivel and slide-out coupler. The break-away lock also includes an outer clamping shell comprising a pair of semi-circular locking halves that are locked together so as to surround the swivel and the slide-out coupler for denying access thereto and stopping an unauthorized detachment of the water meter from the fire hydrant.
Should the tanker truck drive off with the water supply hose still connected to the fire hydrant water meter, a strong pulling force will be applied to the water meter via the hose. This strong pulling force is transferred from the water meter to the slide-out coupler that is surrounded by the outer clamping shell. Accordingly, the frictional engagement between the proximal end of the slide-out coupler and the distal end of the swivel of the break-away lock will be broken, and the slide-out coupler will be pulled away from the swivel and outwardly from the outer clamping shell in response to the pulling force applied to the water supply hose. The ball bearings that are located in the circumferential channel at the intersection of the slide-out coupler with the swivel of the break-away lock facilitate the detachment of the coupler from the swivel. By virtue of the foregoing, the strong pulling force applied to the fire hydrant water meter and the slide-out coupler connected thereto will not also be applied to the fire hydrant, whereby to avoid an unearthing of the fire hydrant and the damages associated therewith.